When it comes to building wealth, the truth is that unremarkable actions completed consistently for many years (decades) produce remarkable results. But because these actions appear unremarkable, people tend to overlook their importance. Also, sometimes, people are tempted to undertake intense and often risky “investments” as a shortcut to make up for past inaction. Unfortunately, this approach rarely pays off. Consistency beats intensity.
This blog sets out the top 4 unremarkable actions that generate the most wealth if completed consistently over many years.
Eliminate unconscious expenditure
Holidays are expensive. And post-Covid, holidays are even more expensive. However, holidays tend to deliver a lot of happiness and satisfaction. We tend to think deeply about whether to book a holiday, where to go and how much to spend. This conscious approach to spending typically means we get good value for money i.e., in economic terms, maximise the
utility per dollar spent.
If you are reading this blog, it’s very likely that you make wise, rational decisions about how you spend money. Therefore, your only potential weakness then is unconscious expenditure, which you must eliminate. Unconscious expenditure is when you spend money on items without thinking about it. These items tend to be small dollar value transactions. Most importantly, they tend to add little to your standard of living (i.e., utility), and as such, are a waste. A perfect example is the Stan subscription that I cancelled last month. My family hasn’t watched anything on Stan for a few months, so it was a waste to continue to pay for it. Unconscious expenditure can add up to multiples of tens of thousands of dollars each year.
How do you eliminate unconscious expenditure? There are two ways. You can track every dollar and cent you spend using an app like Pocketbook. However, for most people, this approach feels tedious, time consuming, and draconian. Instead, you need an approach that is simple and unintrusive so that you can stick to it for the long term. All my clients have had great success with the
approach set out in this blog.
If you can adopt a strategy that ensures you minimise or hopefully eliminate unconscious expenditure and stick to it for the rest
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IMPORTANT: This podcast provides general information about finance, taxes, and credit. This means that the content does not consider your specific objectives, financial situation, or needs. It is crucial for you to assess whether the information is suitable for your circumstances before taking any actions based on it. If you find yourself uncertain about the relevance or your specific needs, it is advisable to seek advice from a licensed and trustworthy professional.